Allingham Guilty Of Jewel Theft

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30287, 13 November 1963, Page 34

Allingham Guilty Of Jewel Theft

(New Zealand Preu Association)

DUNEDIN, Nov. 12. A jury in the Dunedin Supreme Court today took Ihr IShnin to find Thomas Robert Allingham, aged 34. a workman, guilty, and Roy Leonard Fuller, aged 30, a workman, of Wellington, not guilty on a joint count of theft of diamond rings. Allingham was remanded for sentence. The case was before Mr Justice Henry and a jury. The jury retired at 11.1 arn. It was alleged the two stole 25 diamond rings valued at £989 12s 6d from Websters Jewellers op October 3. TTiey pleaded not guilty. Allingham and Fuller were represented by Messrs W. McAlevey and J- D. G. Neil respectively, and Mr J. B. Deaker conducted the case for the Crown. The Crown case relied on circumstantial evidence, but that was not to say the case rested on theory, said his Honour, summing up. It was proper evidence on which the jury could convict. However, this was a matter for the jury. John Webster, who trades as Websters Jewellers, said he placed wedding rings in the shop window about 5.15 pm. AU of the diamond ring display pads were there then. When Fuller and Allingham came into the Stop, Fuller stood near the ring display while Allingham started a conversation with one of the persona present in the shop. Allingham and Fuller left just after 5.39 p.m. and when the witness was about to leave the shop just before 6 pm., he discovered that one of the ring display pads was missing. The next day he identified Fuller as one of the men who had been in the shop and also identified a second man, who was not Allingham. Ctlier witnesses called who were present in the shop were Jean Catherine Anderson (who later identified Allingbam as one of the men),

Raymond Douglas Fcgo (who was unable to identify Fuller at an identification parade' and Catherine Marie Read (who had identified another man as Allingham and had failed to identify Filler). Detective Senior-Sergeant J. A Marshall said that Allingham had told him he was in Webster's shop about 5.10 pm. on the day in question. Allingham said he had been alone. Fuller said he had spent the afternoon at tire Masonic Hotel and denied he had been in Webster’s shop. Ronald William Harris, a barman at the Masonic Hotel, said that Fuller had come into the hotel with a man named Munro at 455 p.m. and left between 5.15 and 520 pm. Allingham was not with them.